From Jeff Eberhard’s top-floor U.S. Bancorp Tower office, one can see every bridge in Portland.

There are the seven downtown spans between the Ross Island and the Fremont structures. To the south, the Sellwood Bridge is clearly visible. The St. Johns bridge peeps out along the winding Willamette River in far-North Portland. To the northeast, Eberhard can eyeball the bridges that deliver interstates 5 and 205 into Washington.

It’s not unreasonable to think that those bridges bustle with clients visiting Eberhard’s law firm, Portland-based Smith Freed & Eberhard PC. Eberhard, the practice’s managing partner, oversees a firm that has blossomed over the last three years, sprouting from roughly 30 to 62 attorneys. It has also earned enough of a buzz in Seattle to open an office there. The new office will employ four attorneys, including senior partner Bob Smith and partner Kyle Riley.

While Smith Freed has grown, the other nine firms among Portland’s largest law outfits counted 1.7 percent fewer attorneys, falling from a total of 794 to 780, between late 2008 and late 2009.

“Other Portland law firms have been forced to lay off attorneys while we’ve been hiring and growing,” Eberhard said.

Smith Freed & Eberhard moved into the tony “Big Pink” digs Jan. 1, 2008, when it leased 25,100 square feet on U.S. Bancorp Tower’s 43rd floor and part of the 41st floor. It has since added another 9,440 square feet on the 40th floor.

The firm has expanded during the throes of an ongoing recession. Eberhard credits the firm’s commitment to its litigation expertise, an area that has continued to provide steady business while other types of work, particularly business transactions, has stalled. Among

Employment disputes, particularly those stemming from dismissals, tend to grow during a recession.

People who get laid off but quickly find new jobs won’t sue their old employers, he said. But if they don’t get work right away, they may go to a lawyer. Often, many of the claims are questionable or exaggerated.

Smith Freed also counsels employers on how to make the difficult job-reduction decisions responsibly.

“To a certain extent, we do a lot of dispute pre-litigation,” Eberhard said.

The firm’s growth stems from several signature operational strategies. For starters, it welcomes business clients of all sizes. The idea is that newer lawyers cut their teeth on disputes involving smaller accounts.

“We’re able to train them on those cases, and whether they’re assisting or leading them, they’re able to get into the trenches and do the work as opposed to sit on the sidelines,” Eberhard said.

Eberhard exerts an unusually strong hand over the operations. He’s served 11 years as managing partner, a long stint in a city where many such leaders serve only three years in that position.

Eberhard attended George Washington University’s law school management training program upon assuming his firm’s helm.

His role is the same as a non-legal services company’s CEO.

“We don’t hold endless hours of partner meetings,” he said. “Each partner is focused more on their practice and I focus on the business issues.

Switching managing partner duties seems like bad strategy, he said.

“It takes someone two years just to get their feet wet in that role.”

Eberhard and other firm leaders also look to hire attorneys who speak plainly, a tactic that helps build trust with business clients who don’t want their attorneys using a lot of lawyer-speak.

“A lot of lawyers aren’t great at communicating with their clients,” he said. “Our lawyers don’t speak in legal-ese.”

The strategy also translates to success in the courtroom. Juries can consist of people who have masters degrees as well as high school dropouts. It helps when an attorney communicates at a level all jurors can understand, Eberhard said.

The firm typically hires experienced litigators, as opposed to recent law school graduates. Attorneys who’ve been in the game for a few years know what it takes to run a business, the philosophy goes.

“The landscape for firms that work in the employment and insurance company space is extremely competitive,” said Carl Peters, president of Seattle-based consultant Lawmanage. “And lately, the insurers pretty much dictate the price they pay their lawyers.”

Peters said he’s heard of insurance companies demanding 5 percent rate rollbacks from their law firms. Many insurers already command discounts from business attorneys: It’s not unheard of for a business lawyer billing other business clients, say, $300 an hour to charge insurance companies $200 an hour.

“The firms need to figure out if they can get enough extra work from those clients to make enough money on it,” Peters said.

But Starla Goff, a Smith Freed partner, said the Seattle move stems from demand among Smith Freed’s Washington clients. The practice believes the Seattle office could one day grow as large as Portland’s.

“We already have the client base to be profitable in Washington,” Goff said. “Moving there will help our clients more because we’re not paying the travel expenses (to serve them). It also allows us to serve clients who told us they’ll give us more business because we now have the office there.”

Perhaps one day, Smith Freed could even open a Seattle space as inviting as its Big Pink layout.